Today many millions of people wear eyeglasses and many of these people are under the age of eighteen. The average price for a pair of prescription eyeglasses in the United States is over one hundred dollars. A pair of premium eyeglasses and frames may cost over five hundred dollars. Therefore, permanently losing a pair of eyeglasses and having to buy a new pair is expensive. Losing eyeglasses is also inconvenient because the eyeglass owner may have to schedule an appointment, special order a new frame and then have the lenses installed into the frames. Therefore, it may take days or weeks before the lost eyeglasses are replaced.
Every year, thousands of eyeglasses are lost and never recovered. By some estimates, over 50% of eyeglass owners have permanently lost their eyeglasses at least once. Adding to this problem is the fact that finders of eyeglasses usually have no way of identifying the owner of the lost eyeglasses.
One arrangement for identifying eyeglasses is engraving the owners name and telephone number on the glasses. One drawback to this method is that engraving leaves an impression in the frames that attracts dirt and bacteria. Also, engraving on an eyeglass frame requires an expensive piece of engraving machinery that is not typically carried in engraving stores. This equipment also has a minimum character size that limits the number of characters that will fit onto an eyeglass frame. In addition, owners may have privacy reservations with having their name and telephone number on their eyeglasses.
Another method of identification is using a flat label on the temple bar of the eyeglass frame. One drawback of this method is that repeated use may wear the identification marking off this label. Also the labels sometimes become loose and fall off. Lastly, using a flat label may reduce the aesthetic value of the eyeglasses.
Another proposed solution is having the inside of a frame recessed and putting a label in the recess. The label typically has the owners phone number and name or address. One drawback with this method is that the recess tends to attract dirt and bacteria. Putting a recess in frames is also expensive and tends to weaken the frames. In addition, there are privacy issues with having the owners phone number or address on his or her eyeglasses.
Thus, a need exists for an identification device for eyeglass frames that does not accumulate dirt and bacteria and easily attaches to eyeglass temple bars. In addition, there is a need for an identification marking that will not wear off after repeated uses. There is also a need for a convenient method for recovering a pair of lost eyeglasses.
The present invention provides, in a first aspect, an identification device for eyeglass frames including a temple bar with a distal end configured for engagement with a user behind the user""s ear. The identification device includes an identification sleeve configured for substantially concentric engagement with the distal end. Identification indicia is disposed on said identification sleeve, so that the indicia is configured for disposition behind the user""s ear. The indicia is disposed on opposite sides of said identification sleeve. A substantially transparent non-toxic protective sleeve is superposed with said identification sleeve, and is fabricated from a non-toxic polymeric material.
In another aspect, the present invention is an identification device for eyeglass frames including a temple bar having a distal end configured for engagement with a user""s head behind the user""s ear. An identification sleeve is disposed in substantially concentric engagement with said distal end, and identification indicia is disposed on the identification sleeve, wherein said indicia is configured for disposition behind the user""s ear. A protective sleeve fabricated from a polymeric material is superposed with the identification sleeve.
In a still further aspect, the present invention includes a combination ear pad and identification device for eyeglass frames including a temple bar having a distal end configured for engagement with a user behind the user""s ear. The device includes an inner sleeve configured for substantially concentric engagement with the distal end. Identification indicia is disposed on said inner sleeve, so that the indicia is configured for disposition behind the user""s ear. The indicia is disposed on opposite sides of said inner sleeve. A substantially transparent outer sleeve superposed with said inner sleeve is fabricated from a non-toxic polymeric material. The inner and outer sleeves form a pad configured to provide cushioned, more comfortable engagement of the eyeglasses with the user.
In addition, another aspect of this invention includes a method of applying identification indicia to a eyeglass frame having a temple bar with a distal end configured for engagement with a user behind the user""s ear, the method includes:
(a) providing an identification sleeve fabricated from heat-shrinkable tubing having identification indicia thereon;
(b) heat shrinking the identification sleeve onto the distal end;
(c) providing a protecting sleeve fabricated from a non-toxic heat-shrinkable polymeric tubing material; and
(d) heat shrinking the protective sleeve onto superimposed engagement with at least a portion of the identification sleeve.
The present invention provides, in a different aspect, a method of recovering lost eyeglasses, this method including the steps of:
(a) applying a unique identification indicia and third party contact information to the eyeglasses;
(b) recording the identification indicia and contact information for the owner;
(c) receiving a communication from a finder including the unique identification indicia of a lost pair or eyeglasses;
(d) retrieving the contact information for the owner corresponding to the unique identification indicia of said receiving step c; and
(e) communicating with the finder to arrange for return of the eyeglasses to the owner.